1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates to a dual oven, and more particularly, to a cooling and exhaust system of a dual oven having upper and lower ovens, in which an installation structure of a cooling fan and an exhaust structure provided for respectively cooling and exhausting the upper and lower ovens may be integrated into a simplified structure. For instance, common components may be used to increase the manufacturing productivity, and fans provided in the upper and lower ovens may be independently controlled to operate at different speeds according to a desired operation in order to maximize the cooling efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, electric ovens are used for cooking food placed in its cooking chamber using heat generated by a ceramic heater, a sheath heater, a halogen heater or a high-frequency generating device such as, for example, a magnetron. The food in the cooking chamber can be cooked relatively fast since inner and outer portions of the food can be simultaneously cooked. Electric ovens are also safe to use and have high thermal efficiency. Thus, the use of electric ovens is increasing. Particularly, the use of dual electric ovens which can accommodate and cook a great volume of food due to having upper and lower ovens is becoming widespread.
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a front side of a conventional dual electric oven, FIG. 2 illustrates a cutaway perspective view of main components of the dual electric oven shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a rear side of the dual electric oven shown in FIG. 1.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a dual electric oven 2 includes an upper oven 4 provided at an upper portion of a front frame 12 and a lower oven 8 provided below the upper oven 4.
The upper oven 4 includes a housing 5 which includes a cooking chamber 6, an upper door 14 provided with a handle 15 and a window 22 where the upper door 14 opens and closes on the cooking chamber 6, an upper heater 42 provided at an upper side of the cooking chamber 6 to provide high heat in the cooking chamber 6, a lower heater (not shown) provided at a lower side of the cooking chamber 6 to provide heat through a bottom wall of the cooking chamber 6, a convection fan 44 provided at an inner rear side of the cooking chamber 6, and a fan 144 for cooling the upper oven 4 and exhausting hot air during a self-cleaning operation.
The lower oven 8 has similar structures, and thus, description thereof will be skipped.
Operating buttons for operating the upper and lower ovens 4 and 8 and a control panel 50 for checking operating statuses of the upper and lower oven 4 and 8 are provided on the upper portion of the front frame 12, and an exhaust outlet 13 is provided on a lower portion of the front frame 12.
The fan 144 for cooling and exhausting air from the upper oven 4 is installed in an air box or compartment 80 provided on the upper portion of the housing 5. The fan 144 includes an exhaust unit 146 and a cooling unit 148. The exhaust unit 146, during the self-cleaning operation of the upper oven 4, exhausts hot air A1 from the cooking chamber 6 through a plurality of holes 139 formed between the cooking chamber 6 and the air box 80 to an exhaust duct 89 formed between the housing 5 and a cover case 88. The cooling unit 148 directs cooling air B1 for cooling the upper oven 4 to the exhaust duct 89. A partition plate 150 for separating the hot exhaust air A1 and the cooling air B1 is also provided in the air box 80.
FIG. 3 illustrates flow of the hot exhaust air A1 and the cooling air B1 on the rear side of the dual electric oven 2 shown in FIG. 1. Through the fan 144 of the upper oven 4, the hot exhaust air A1 and the cooling air B1 are directed to the exhaust duct 89 formed between the cover case 88 and outer surfaces of the housing 5 and 7 respectively which cover the upper and lower oven 4 and 8. Then, the hot exhaust air A1 and the cooling air B1 pass through a lower exhaust passage 194 formed on a lower portion of the lower oven 8 to be eventually exhausted from the outlet 13 shown in FIG. 1. On the other hand, hot exhaust air A2 and cooling air B2 are directed through the fan 174 of the lower oven 8 to the exhaust duct 89 formed between the cover case 88 and the outer surface of the housing 7 which covers the lower oven 8. Then, the hot exhaust air A2 and the cooling air B2 pass through the lower exhaust passage 194 to be exhausted from the outlet 13. Reference numeral 196 indicates a motor for operating the convection fan 44 of the upper oven 4, reference numeral 196′ indicates a motor for operating a convection fan (not shown) of the lower oven 8. Reference numerals 200 and 204 respectively indicate a first partition plate for separating the hot exhaust air A1 and the cooling air B1 and a second partition plate for separating the hot exhaust air A2 and the cooling air B2.